The service you don't see

Lake Country Power lineworkers don’t work alone on our power lines. Whether they are climbing 40-foot poles, restoring power, or clearing tree limbs to prevent future outages, they are never far from the hearts of those who love them.

And when the power goes out, there is deep appreciation in the hearts of members when service is restored.

At this time of year, stores are flooded with hearts, candy, and cards professing love and appreciation. But to be honest, those sentiments pale in comparison to the appreciation and support for your co-op linemen every time a storm sweeps through our area.

If the lights go out, our lineworkers’ wives and families send their loved ones out into the elements. When other electric cooperatives are in trouble after devastating ice storms, tornadoes, fires or floods, our lineworkers will travel to other destinations, when available, to bring the lights back on for complete strangers.

Working with high-voltage electricity, lineworkers find themselves in life and death situations on a regular basis. That’s why Lake Country Power focuses on safety first. Just last year, our linemen went through 22 documented safety training programs, including pole top/bucket rescue, rubber gloving, arc flash, voltage troubleshooting and CPR/AED/first-aid/BBP, to name a few. We know the folks who love our 42 lineworkers appreciate the time we take to make sure our employees get home safe every night.

Marrying into this profession isn’t easy. Lineworkers are often on call, and must be ready to respond at a moment’s notice if our community needs them. This makes children’s sporting events and family get-togethers hard to pull off sometimes. But the men who keep your power flowing do so because they know without their commitment, many of the things we’ve come to expect — cold food, lights, entertainment — wouldn’t be possible. By devoting their lives to working on utility lines, they connect all of us to a better way of life.

This Valentine’s Day I’d like to take a moment to thank our line workers for their sacrifice and commitment. I also want to say thanks to the wives, fiancés, family members and friends who support the 42 workers who brave the elements and work long hours to keep power flowing to our homes each and every day. It's all part of the service you don't see in the effort to keep your lights on whether it's Valentine's Day or any other day of the year.

Lake Country Power, http://www.lakecountrypower.coop, is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The electric cooperative provides electricity to nearly 49,000 rural services and has offices located in Grand Rapids, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.